Sometime during the nineteenth century, dog fanciers in England, Ireland, and
Scotland began to experiment with crosses between Bulldogs and Terriers, looking
for a dog that combined the gameness of the terrier with the strength and
athleticism of the Bulldog. The result was a dog that embodied all of the
virtues attributed to great warriors: strength, indomitable courage, and
gentleness with loved ones. Immigrants brought these bull and terrier crosses to
the United States. The American Pit Bull Terrier's many talents did not go
unnoticed by farmers and ranchers who used their APBTs for protection, as catch
dogs for semi-wild cattle and hogs, to hunt, to drive livestock, and as family
companions. Today, the American Pit Bull Terrier continues to demonstrate its
versatility, competing successfully in Obedience, Tracking, Agility, Protection,
and Weight Pulls, as well as Conformation.

The
United Kennel Club was the first registry to recognize the American Pit Bull
Terrier. U.K.C. founder C. Z. Bennett assigned U.K.C. registration number 1 to
his own APBT, Bennett's Ring in 1898.

General Appearance

The American Pit Bull Terrier
is a medium-sized, solidly built, short-coated dog with smooth, well-defined
musculature. This breed is both powerful and athletic. The body is just
slightly longer than tall, but bitches may be somewhat longer in body than
dogs. The length of the front leg (measured from point of elbow to the ground)
is approximately equal to one-half of the dog's height at the withers. The
head is of medium length, with a broad, flat skull, and a wide, deep muzzle.
Ears are small to medium in size, high set, and may be natural or cropped. The
relatively short tail is set low, thick at the base and tapers to a point. The
American Pit Bull Terrier comes in all colors and color patterns. This breed
combines strength and athleticism with grace and agility and should never
appear bulky or muscle-bound or fine-boned and rangy.

Characteristics

The essential characteristics of the American Pit Bull Terrier are strength,
confidence, and zest for life. This breed is eager to please and brimming over
with enthusiasm. APBTs make excellent family companions and have always been
noted for their love of children. Because most APBTs exhibit some level of dog
aggression and because of its powerful physique, the APBT requires an owner who
will carefully socialize and obedience train the dog. The breed's natural
agility makes it one of the most capable canine climbers so good fencing is a
must for this breed. The APBT is not the best choice for a guard dog since they
are extremely friendly, even with strangers. Aggressive behavior toward humans
is uncharacteristic of the breed and highly undesirable. This breed does very
well in performance events because of its high level of intelligence and its
willingness to work.

The
American Pit Bull Terrier has always been capable of doing a wide variety of
jobs so exaggerations or faults should be penalized in proportion to how much
they interfere with the dog's versatility.

Head

The APBT head is unique and a key element of breed type. It is large and broad,
giving the impression of great power, but it is not disproportionate to the size
of the body. Viewed from the front, the head is shaped like a broad, blunt
wedge. When viewed from the side, the skull and muzzle are parallel to one
another and joined by a well defined, moderately deep stop. Supraorbital arches
over the eyes are well defined but not pronounced. The head is well chiseled,
blending strength, elegance, and character.

SKULL -
The skull is large, flat or slightly rounded, deep, and broad between the ears.
Viewed from the top, the skull tapers just slightly toward the stop. There is a
deep median furrow that diminishes in depth from the stop to the occiput. Cheek
muscles are prominent but free of wrinkles. When the dog is concentrating,
wrinkles form on the forehead, which give the APBT his unique expression.

MUZZLE -
The muzzle is broad and deep with a very slight taper from the stop to the nose,
and a slight falling away under the eyes. The length of muzzle is shorter than
the length of skull, with a ratio of approximately 2:3. The topline of the
muzzle is straight. The lower jaw is well developed, wide and deep. Lips are
clean and tight.

Faults: Snipey muzzle; flews; weak lower jaw.

TEETH -
The American Pit Bull Terrier has a complete set of evenly spaced, white teeth
meeting in a scissors bite.

Fault: Level bite.

Serious
Faults: Undershot, or overshot bite; wry mouth; missing
teeth (this does not apply to teeth that have been lost or removed by a
veterinarian).

NOSE -
The nose is large with wide, open nostrils. The nose may be any color.

EYES -
Eyes are medium size, round to almond-shaped, and set well apart and low on the
skull. All colors are equally acceptable except blue, which is a serious fault.
Haw should not be visible.

EARS
- Ears are high set and may be natural or cropped without preference. If
natural, semi-prick or rose are preferred. Prick or flat, wide ears are not
desired.

Neck

The neck is of moderate length and muscular. There is a slight arch at the
crest. The neck widens gradually from where it joins the skull to where it
blends into well laid-back shoulders. The skin on the neck is tight and without
dewlap.

The shoulder blades are long, wide, muscular, and well laid back. The upper arm
is roughly equal in length to the shoulder blade and joins it at an apparent
right angle.

The
forelegs are strong and muscular. The elbows are set close to the body. Viewed
from the front, the forelegs are set moderately wide apart and perpendicular to
the ground. The pasterns are short, powerful, straight, and flexible. When
viewed in profile, the pasterns are nearly erect.

The chest is deep, well
filled in, and moderately wide with ample room for heart and lungs, but the
chest should never be wider than it is deep. The forechest does not extend
much beyond the point of shoulder. The ribs extend well back and are well
sprung from the spine, then flattening to form a deep body extending to the
elbows. The back is strong and firm. The topline inclines very slightly
downward from the withers to a broad, muscular, level back. The loin is short,
muscular and slightly arched to the top of the croup, but narrower than the
rib cage and with a moderate tuck-up. The croup is slightly sloping downward.

Hindquarters

The hindquarters are strong, muscular, and moderately broad. The rump is well
filled in on each side of the tail and deep from the pelvis to the crotch. The
bone, angulation, and musculature of the hindquarters are in balance with the
forequarters. The thighs are well developed with thick, easily discerned
muscles. Viewed from the side, the hock joint is well bent and the rear pasterns
are well let down and perpendicular to the ground. Viewed from the rear, the
rear pasterns are straight and parallel to one another.

The feet are round, proportionate to the size of the dog, well arched, and
tight. Pads are hard, tough, and well cushioned. Dewclaws may be removed.

Fault:
Splayed feet.

Tail

The tail is set on as a natural extension of the topline, and tapers to a point.
When the dog is relaxed, the tail is carried low and extends approximately to
the hock. When the dog is moving, the tail is carried level with the backline.
When the dog is excited, the tail may be carried in a raised, upright position
(challenge tail), but never curled over the back (gay tail).

The coat is glossy and smooth, close, and moderately stiff to the touch.

Faults: Curly, wavy, or sparse coat.

Disqualification:
Long coat.

Color

Any color, color pattern, or
combination of colors is acceptable.

Height and Weight

The American Pit Bull Terrier
must be both powerful and agile so actual weight and height are less important
than the correct proportion of weight to height. Desirable weight for a mature
male in good condition is between 35 and 60 pounds. Desirable weight for a
mature female in good condition is between 30 and 50 pounds. Dogs over these
weights are not to be penalized unless they are disproportionately massive or
rangy.

Gait

The American Pit Bull Terrier moves with a jaunty, confident attitude, conveying
the impression that he expects any minute to see something new and exciting.
When trotting, the gait is effortless, smooth, powerful, and well coordinated,
showing good reach in front and drive behind. When moving, the backline remains
level with only a slight flexing to indicate suppleness. Viewed from any
position, legs turn neither in nor out, nor do feet cross or interfere with each
other. As speed increases, feet tend to converge toward center line of balance.

Faults:
Legs not moving on the same plane; legs over reaching; legs crossing over in
front or rear; rear legs moving too close or touching; rolling; pacing;
paddling; sidewinding; hackney action; pounding.